Voldemorts Curse
by A Paige in a Book
Summary: It's the sixth year at Hogwarts, and strange things are happening. People that Harry knows seem to be changing before his very eyes. The source of the problem is very different than one expected...


Disclaimer: All I own is the plot/story line and the new characters.

It was the hot months of summer, at the end of July and the beginning of August. Not many people were outside, as they preferred the comfort of their homes. However, a young man could be found sitting underneath a tree at the end of Privet Drive with a quill and a stack of parchment. He was very tall and had black messy hair. The most notable feature of his was a jagged scar on forehead.

Harry held his quill between his teeth as he shuffled for his ink bottle. Finding it, he carefully unscrewed the top and dipped his quill in.

_Dear Ron,_

_How has your summer been? I have been pretty bored lately. The only interesting things that have happened all summer were the reports on You-Know-Who and a small incident with Dudley. Dudley was playing with his new remote-controlled tank, and he crushed old Mrs. Figg's flowers. Mrs. Figg is a Squib. She tried to mutter a spell under her breath, but it didn't work. Instead of the tank and Dudley disappearing from the flower bed and reappearing in his room, the tank came to life._

Here, Harry paused, remembering. That day was actually funny. After the tank had chased Dudley around in at least ten circles before stopping, Aunt Petunia had come rushing out of the house, apologizing to Mrs. Figg and yelling at Dudley.

_Nothing else has happened. Please write back soon._

_Harry_

_P.S. Please tell me if they have any more information on You-Know-Who_.

That finished, Harry set the letter aside to dry. He began to write a similar letter to Hermione, also asking her how her vacation was (her parents had taken her to Spain). He was almost finished, but there seemed to be something missing. He reviewed the entire letter before finally coming to it. At the end of his letter, he wrote the words _Love_,_ Harry_. Satisfied, Harry leaned back against the tree. He was just beginning to relax when he heard Aunt Petunia's screeching call.

"Boy! Get up, you lazy lump! There's work to be done inside, and you're lying around like an old bag of rubbish!"

"Why don't you make Dudley do it?" he complained.

"Don't you teach me how to take care of my Dinky Duddydums! Now scat! The dishes need to be done and the floor needs to be cleaned. I don't want a speck on anything!"

Harry obeyed with reluctance. It had been like this every day of summer since he got back from Hogwarts. He hadn't even had much time to rest from his ordeal in the Department of Mysteries.

A few days later, on August second, Harry got his letter from school. It included his school list and three other lists.

_Prefects:_

_Ginny Weasley (Gryffindor)_

_Maralyne Foris (Ravenclaw)_

_Edward Darion (Hufflepuff)_

_Torrev Mollod (Slytherin)_

Pausing here, Harry wondered why they were listing the prefects. He was happy for Ginny, but he didn't know whom this Mollod person was. Shrugging it off, he continued.

_Head Girl:_

_Cho Chang (Ravenclaw)_

_Head Boy:_

_Steven Ecklebert (Hufflepuff)_

That was a heart stopper, too. So Cho Chang, his secret crush, had made Head Girl. A strange fluttering was going on in Harry's stomach as he read about this.

_Attention students,_

_This year at Hogwarts, we shall be experimenting with a new act of leadership. Two sixth year students will be selected to assist the Head Boy and Girl._

_Sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

The notices continued on.

_Assistant to the Head Girl:_

_Hermione Granger_

_Assistant to the Head Boy:_

_Draco Malfoy_

Harry froze entirely at that. How could that slime-bag Malfoy be the Assistant to the Head Boy? He wasn't really surprised about Hermione's achievement. But Malfoy? Pondering this, he went down to dinner (a plate of raw carrots and some lettuce). Knowing that, once again, he had birthday cake and Dudley had a diet, Harry ate his "rabbit food" without complaint. He tried to escape the table, but not before his Uncle Vernon descended on him with interesting news.

"Come here, you!" he barked. "Now!"

"Listen, boy. I have a big meeting coming up in two days. If I can seal it, then we're going on a vacation."

"We are?"

"Not you!" snarled his uncle. "You're staying with Mrs. Figg! For a month!"

"But how will I get to the Hog- I mean, to the train?"

"You got lucky, boy. I've arranged for a cab to come and take you to the station. It's a once in a lifetime chance, so you behave! Now go upstairs and pack your bags. You're going over there tomorrow."

As this was a great treat for Harry (Mrs. Figg had become loads better to stay with since Harry had found out that she was a Squib), he took the stairs two at a time and flung himself onto his bed.

"Guess what, Hedwig? We get to go to Mrs. Figg's house for the rest of the summer! No more Dudley! No more Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon scowling at me!"

Hedwig hooted softly to show that she was interested but not ecstatic.

"Aw, come on, Hedwig! Couldn't you even _pretend_ to be a little happy?"

She hooted a little bit louder, then clicked her beak in an annoyed sort of way. It seemed that she was giving her opinion of wizards who danced and shouted at petty things.

"Hedwig, you have absolutely no idea how good this is." said Harry.

Hedwig then proceeded to give him as dirty a look as an owl could.

Harry resorted to bargaining. "If you don't make a fuss about moving, I'll see if I can let you out at night and leave the window open for you. Okay?"

Hedwig considered the deal, then gave a loud hoot of acceptance.

Gathering up all of his books, quills, parchment, cakes, and robes, Harry went to sleep, feeling much happier than he had in days.


End file.
